book data
2740 ratings, 3.50 average rating, 181 reviews
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published
January 1997
(first published 1938)
by Samuel French Inc Plays
binding
Paperback
literary awards
Pulitzer Prize
isbn
0573613494
(isbn13: 9780573613494)
description
A handsome Perennial Classics edition of America's favourite play, Our Town, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
First produced a...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 3118)
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avg 3.50
Read in August, 2007
American playwriting at its best. I think the most stunning thing is that this book manages to convey a deep sense of human tragedy without portraying people who rabidly abuse each other. This is also why many hack directors (not to mention high schools) have been able to produce the work as a saccharine fairytale, and the bad reputation of this play can certainly be attributed to these careless people. But you, my dear critical thinker--you should read this.
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Goodbye, Grover’s Corners
I saw a really terrible movie this weekend called "Stardust". I thought that it would be terrific since the cast is star-studded and mostly because it was based on a novel by the very clever Neil Gaiman (who I am a big fan of, Sandman, American Gods, Good Omens & the "Brakiri Day of the Dead" episode of Babylon 5 for fans in the know). But alas, the movie sucked (although Deniro was funny. Yarg!!).
But the movie also stars Claire Daines w...more
I saw a really terrible movie this weekend called "Stardust". I thought that it would be terrific since the cast is star-studded and mostly because it was based on a novel by the very clever Neil Gaiman (who I am a big fan of, Sandman, American Gods, Good Omens & the "Brakiri Day of the Dead" episode of Babylon 5 for fans in the know). But alas, the movie sucked (although Deniro was funny. Yarg!!).
But the movie also stars Claire Daines w...more
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Read in March, 2008
No matter what background or state of life you are in, you will be able to relate to "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder. Broken up into three acts ("Daily Life," "Love & Marriage," and "I reckon you can guess what that's about,") "Our Town" is a beautifully simple play that well portrays the basic scenes of life that we take for granted each and every day.
The last act was the act that touched me most deeply, moved me almost to tears, and allowed...more
The last act was the act that touched me most deeply, moved me almost to tears, and allowed...more
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Read in February, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in December, 2003
recommends it for:
Everyone
A timeless masterpiece!This is absolutely my favorite play. It is timeless and universal, pertaining to anyone, anywhere. The story takes place in a small town at the turn of the century, in 1901, and takes place over the course of about fourteen years. The story line is extremely simplistic, but allows the reader to focus on the deeper themes that author, Thorton Wilder, is able to display. The play has three acts that each represent daily life, love and marriage, and death. Living people are p...more
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Although I don't usually read plays, this deserves each of its five stars. I love the simplicity with which is is written--and to see it performed truly brings the message home. No frills. No fluff. This is life, both the bitter and the sweet and it's wonderful. You'll appreciate each little blessing in your every day more having read Our Town. (a Grandpa Wells favorite)
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I read this in high school and college and for some reason I just really love this play. Perhaps it is because I myself was born and raised in New England.
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This book made me feel simple, calm. It's written in a monotone fashion that makes you wonder how the author hit the small town target so perfectly.
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
To anyone
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in October, 2008
Somehow I never read Our Town in high school or in six years as an English major, but just this week I enjoyed it very much. This is a bare-bones, stripped-down play with a pointed message: that we should wonder at and be grateful for the big and small details in life while we're still living it - "clocks ticking...and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths... and sleeping and waking up."
The back of the book calls it "the gre...more
The back of the book calls it "the gre...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone
Somehow I have never read or seen the play Our Town by Thornton Wilder. I have seen clips when performed in various movies or TV shows, but I knew very little of the story line. Over the weekend I decided a classic was just what I needed. It’s an extremely quick read, around 100 pages, and since it’s a play it reads very quickly. If you’ve never read it or seen the play, it’s definitely worth reading.
The book makes you ask yourself questions. Do humans ever realize how wonderful life...more
The book makes you ask yourself questions. Do humans ever realize how wonderful life...more
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نمایش نامه ی "شهر ما" اثر تورنتون وایلدر به فارسی ترجمه شده. این که بصورت کتاب هم چاپ و منتشر شده باشد، نمی دانم ولی اجرای صحنه ای آن را بچه های دانشکده ی تیاتر، در تالار انجمن ایران و آمریکا (محل کانون پرورش فکری کودکان و ... در خیابان وزرای سابق و نمی دانم چی فعلی) روی صحنه آ...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone who likes to think
I've never actually seen a production of Our Town performed so, I'm exactly sure what caused me to pick up the book a few years ago in the store, but I sure was glad then. A few nights ago I decided it was worth a re-read, and I seem to find more meaning in the little things this time than I did last time.
First of all, even though Thorton Wilder is so specific in the town's location, this could represent almost anyone's experience with living life and the choices that you face about it ...more
First of all, even though Thorton Wilder is so specific in the town's location, this could represent almost anyone's experience with living life and the choices that you face about it ...more
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Read in November, 2008
recommended to Alicia by:
Pres. Monson; my mom
This book (and then the DVD) made me cry when Emily (after dying in childbirth) asked, "Do...human beings ever realize life while they live it -- every, every minute?". It's a simple yet profound story that reminds us to treasure each day of life and each day with our families, because someday these days will be gone! I definitely needed the reminder to find "joy in the journey".
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2 comments
Strange how the mind works -- for me the Stage Manager will always be Paul Newman and Emily is forever Teresa Wright.. Edited Oct. 3, 2008 Paul Newman died this week and I hunted up this website to honor his memory.
"Actor/director Paul Newman's first appearance on Broadway in 38 years is a highlight of the Westport Country Playhouse production of Thornton Wilder's classic 'Our Town' which played to sold-out audiences on Broadway." This 2003 PBS Masterpiece Theatre companion ...more
"Actor/director Paul Newman's first appearance on Broadway in 38 years is a highlight of the Westport Country Playhouse production of Thornton Wilder's classic 'Our Town' which played to sold-out audiences on Broadway." This 2003 PBS Masterpiece Theatre companion ...more
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Read in October, 1988
While I may be a bit biased (I played Doc Gibbs!), I have to say that I loved this play, I loved the story, I loved the simplicity of everything about it. I loved how raw the emotions were, how simply and truthfully they were conveyed, and more than anything, I loved the fluidity of bringing together grief and joy and sorrow, anger and loss, and just showing how people live in a continuous state of "being". We read it in our junior year of high school and we adapted it for a Thornton...more
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A have to read...One of THEE best books ever written. He is a brilliant writer. It is a story divided into three parts: Life, Marriage,and Death. The Point he is trying to make is life is short...and while we are on it we don't enjoy things as much as we should. In the story the first part takes place in a town like mayberry. They show the individual lives and then comes marriage, Emily (one of the maine characters) marries. When you get to death it shows them all in their graves thinking back o...more
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Read in March, 1996
This play is like a Norman Rockwell painting you sees on a pharmacy calendar, it makes you smile and feels nostalgic, but you know it represents an America that never existed, at least not as whole or as humble as it seems when looking back. But isn't that what nostalgia is? The good times superposing themselves over the bad times and coming in clearer. Looking back we remember the minute experiences that at the time we missed but in retrospect were the most important events in our lives. Please...more
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Really weird but pretty good. No wonder it won a pulitzer! It's really unique! Also, easy read.
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What are you going to say about an American classic, that isn't already implied in the word 'classic'? Long after we're all dead and passing our eternities sitting in chairs on a minimalist stage, another audience will be watching the dead citizens of Grover's Corners passing their eternities sitting in chairs on a minimalist stage.
I will confess that it is Wilder's imagining of life after death I'm most comforted by and when I visit an old or forgotten cemetery, I can't help but think how ...more
I will confess that it is Wilder's imagining of life after death I'm most comforted by and when I visit an old or forgotten cemetery, I can't help but think how ...more
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